FAMILY OF 3 DIES IN THEIR NEW HOUSE

Their joy knew no bounds
when they parked to their new
house last Saturday.
It was a day they had looked forward
to and they took the final decision to
move into the new apartment in
Gbeganu area in Minna, Niger State
last Saturday.
The Adewales
Though not completed, the house
was, however, habitable as the plan
was to gradually complete the house
as they moved in.
However, instead of relatives and
well wishers trooping to the new
house to congratulate them and
“wash” it, it was the burial ceremony
of the family of three that relatives
and other well wishers went for.
The middle aged man, Seyi Adewale,
a generator repairer, his wife, Felicia,

aged 23 and their three-month-old
daughter, Deborah, were, Tuesday,
found dead in their room with the
corpses already decomposing.
It was gathered that they died on
Saturday night, the day they moved
into the new house.
We gathered that the trio,
who retired to one of their rooms
late in the night to enjoy their first
night in the house switched on their
generating set close to the room
while the fume emitting from the
set consumed them overnight. They
never woke up to see the next day.
Unknown to other neighbours that
the trio had parked in, the corpses
of the three-member family
remained in the room unattended to
and were gradually decomposing.
However, the junior sister of the
deceased husband, Deborah, who
had been making frantic effort to
locate her brother got more worried,
Tuesday, four days after they had
moved into the new house.
It was a shocker to her after forcing
the door of the house open to meet
them dead after being killed by
fume from the generator.
She immediately raised alarm which
attracted other neighbours to the
scene.
She said: “We last spoke on phone
on Saturday night, when he was
moving his property and family to
the new house.
“On Sunday, which was the second
day, I also called but nobody picked.
I still tried on Monday thinking it
was due to the poor network service
or run-down battery and yet no
response and that was why I decided
to come down to the house only to
meet my brother and family dead
and decomposing.
“It is very unfortunate for this to
have happened to my brother,
especially at a time when we are
supposed to be rejoicing with them
on their new house.”
Land in contention
We gathered that the land on
which the deceased erected his
house had been in dispute with
another contender, which was,
however, “settled” by the community
head of the area.
Contacted, the state police command
through its spokesman, Mr Richard
Oguche, who confirmed the deaths,
said they must have died as a result
of inhaling the carbon monoxide
from the generating set, which was
turned on overnight and left close to
their room.
The corpses have been buried in
Minna, the Niger State capital.